AFDI Sues WMATA for Censoring Mohammad Cartoon

6

In what could only called an end-run around the First Amendment, the Washington Transit Authority banned “political ads” after AFDI submitted our free speech campaign. As one of my readers pointed out, no contemporary medium of communication may pass the test of being merely commercial and non-political. The New York Times runs an editorial page every day — not to mention the slant of their “straight news” — and therefore, if they can advertise, so can the Village Voice, the Socialist Militant, and Dabiq (ISIS’ four-color magazine), for that matter.

Public safety has been thrown in for good measure, as if these craven quislings know what is conducive to the public good. Color me skeptical. As for buses being a target for jihadis — if we’ve learned anything since 9/11, it is that America is the target. The West is the target for Islamic terrorism. The whole country is on heightened alert for an Islamic State attack on July 4th. Abridging our freedoms so as not to offend savages is surrender and un-American. It results in more demands, more surrender, more capitulation to sharia law (which is what WMATA did).

Running and hiding is no strategy in a war.  Operation Fetal Position is a recipe for disaster.

Story continues below advertisement

WMATA is adhering to Islamic law, contravening our First Amendment rights.

Were the Jewish children in a Toulouse Jewish Day school responsible for their slaughter?
The beachgoers in Tunisia?
The shoppers at the Hyper Cacher?
The soldiers at Fort Hood?
The runners at the Boston Marathon?

“Pamela Geller Sues WMATA for Censoring Mohammad Cartoon,”  AFLC, July 1, 2015

Today, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for refusing to run a “Support Free Speech” advertisement that depicted the winning entry of the “Draw Mohammad Contest” recently held in Garland, Texas.  The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the advertisement’s sponsors, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and its co-founders, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.

On May 20, 2015, Geller submitted the advertisement to WMATA’s advertising agent for display on WMATA’s buses and dioramas.  Geller stated that they “wish to submit the following ad to run on 20 Washington DC buses and 5 DC Dioramas including Foggy Bottom, Capitol South, Bethesda, L’Enfant Plaza, Shady Grove and Union Station (if available).”  The proposed ad appears as follows:

Ad--buses

Geller’s advertisement makes the point that the First Amendment will not yield to Sharia-adherent Islamists who want to enforce so-called blasphemy laws here in the United States, whether through threats of violence or through the actions of complicit government officials.

David Yerushalmi, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, commented,

“We apparently don’t need ISIS to destroy our freedoms; Washington bureaucrats are doing the job for them.  Unfortunately, we have come to the point in our history where we fear engaging in speech that might upset the Sharia-adherent followers of Islam.  As a consequence, government officials now allow Islamic jihadists to veto our speech.  That is un-American, and it is unconstitutional.  It will not stand on our watch.”

Robert Muise, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, added,

“This case is important not only from a legal perspective but from the perspective of who we are as Americans.  Are we going to allow violent Islamists to dictate what we can and cannot say in public?  If so, then we have already lost this so-called war on terror.”

The Truth Must be Told

Your contribution supports independent journalism

Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.

Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.

Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.

Please contribute here.

or

Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding. Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.

Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.

Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.

Follow Pamela Geller on
Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.

Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.

If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Talk_shop
Talk_shop
8 years ago

₪®®₪ . Just Use Your free Time with pamelageller ….☑☑☑☑.Make A Huge Cash in Very Less Time using … Last TuesDay I got a gorgeous Nissan GT-R: when I got my check for $4389 this past five weeks and in excess of $10 thousand lass-month . with-out any question its my favourite-job I’ve ever had . I started this 3 months ago and almost straight away began to earn minimum $79, per/hr .

see Here—– ———Continue Reading

Roger
Roger
8 years ago

Pamela, when it comes down to it, it’s fear. They are afraid of pretty much everything.
I read this statement on a sigh at Camp Pendleton in the sixties, “A coward will die a thousand deaths a brave man but one.”.
I;m glad you exposing them with the lawsuit.

Bret
Bret
8 years ago

If I was the WMATA, I’d force AFDI to sue as well, even knowing full well I’d likely lose.

Why?

Because it’s one thing for me or Geller or whoever to risk our own lives in whatever activities we choose. It’s a whole different thing to risk the lives of commuters who haven’t consented to have increased danger, even if that risk is small.

Yes, if attacked, the blame lies with the attackers.

But personally, I try not to put other people in harm’s way. Nothing courageous about that at all.

ComplementaryAngle
ComplementaryAngle
8 years ago
Reply to  Bret

I appreciate your point. On the other hand, nothing’s really free, not even freedom. Part of the price of riding public transport can be supporting the constitution, in particular, supporting the first amendment against its enemies. Notably, the cartoon and the caption are generic enough to apply to any enemy of reasonable speech.

Michael Copeland
Michael Copeland
8 years ago
Reply to  Bret

Islamic jihad does not give commuters any choice over increased danger.
The bus and trains in London 7/7 carried no drawings of Mohamed.

Pj Wilcox
Pj Wilcox
8 years ago

Bret, I don’t think commuters give a rats ass about posters on the subways of NY. I frequent the subway system often and everyone is on the tablet or phone with headphones or ear buds listening to something. I believe if a transit cop was to announce over a loud speaker, you must exit the train or subway now most would not even hear the announcement.

Sponsored
Geller Report
Thanks for sharing!